Reply to Child broke leg on sidewalk—should I talk to the neighbor or teach my 12-year-old to pay more attention?

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Reply to "Child broke leg on sidewalk—should I talk to the neighbor or teach my 12-year-old to pay more attention?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I’d love your thoughts on something that happened recently. [b]My 12-year-old son was riding his bike on the sidewalk[/b] because the road was too busy. He struck our neighbor’s trash can, which was left blocking the path, and fell, breaking his leg.

This has been a real wake-up call: I need to pay closer attention to where he’s riding and remind him to scan ahead, even on the “safe” sidewalk. At the same time, it feels unfair that a can left in the middle of a public walkway caused this accident.

Under Virginia law, bicycles are explicitly allowed on sidewalks. Still, riders must follow pedestrian rules (Va. Code §§ 46.2-903 & 46.2-904): they have the same rights and duties as walkers—yield to pedestrians, signal before passing, and obey any “no bikes” signs. Property owners must clear obstacles from the public sidewalk, even if the trash company places the can there. In Fairfax County, carts must be pulled in by the end of trash day (Friday or Saturday), but the neighbor left their trash can out for over three days.

Insurance covered almost all of our medical bills; I only paid a few small copays. We have timestamped photos showing the trash can blocking the sidewalk.

So now I’m torn: Do I focus on teaching my son to be extra vigilant, or should I have a calm conversation with the neighbor (or their insurer) about their responsibility and ask them to cover those small copays—and maybe some extra for his pain? Or does that feel like overkill since insurance already handled most of it?

Thanks for any advice or similar experiences![/quote]

His fault. [/quote]

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